Cops smash notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang
PHILIPPINE National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) agents on Wednesday smashed a gang of notorious kidnappers operating in Metro Manila and its nearby regions following the arrest of the ring leader and four of his members.
Nabbed were Ramil Lagonoy Madriaga, the 55-year-old leader of the Madriaga KFR gang, of Blk. 2, L1, St. Joseph, Villa Stella, San Andres, Cainta, Rizal; and his members Jaime Patano, 53, a plumber residing in Brooksie, Zone V, San Roque, Iriga City; Ervyn Garcia Bernados, 32, of San Andres, Cainta; Ronald Romarate Alivio, 44, of Blk. 5, L21 Saint Andrew St., Villa Stella 2, San Andres, Cainta; and alias “Richard.”
In a report to PNP chief Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., PNP-AKG director Brig. Gen. Rodolfo D. Castil Jr. said the group is wanted for a string of kidnapping activities in the metropolis and Calabarzon region.
The Madriaga gang was also believed to be among the heavily-armed kidnappers who escaped arrest during a June 14, 2022 anti-kidnapping operation in Pililla, Rizal, which led to the killing of a young PNP-AKG agent, Pat. Joshua Lingayo of Lubuagan, Kalinga.
The gunbattle erupted as PNP-AKG officers were conducting a follow-up operation to capture the kidnappers who seized two Filipino-Chinese nationals in front of their residence in Tondo, Manila on the night of June 3, 2022.
The 24-year-old Lingayo passed away after fighting for his life in a hospital for 13 days, triggering a mourning in the police organization who still remembers up to now the death of the brave PNP-AKG officer who offered the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
A bullet penetrated the policeman’s abdomen and shattered his kidney and liver during the gunfight with two armed suspects in Pililla municipality. The two armed men were killed in the shootout.
Castil said that Madriaga and Patano were arrested in front of SM East in Cainta, Rizal at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The official said that Madriaga is 5th in their list of most wanted kidnappers in the country.
Madriaga yielded a cal. .45 Para-Ordnance semi-automatic pistol with magazine containing 13 live ammunition with updated License to Own and Possess Firearm, a Firearm Registration Card and a Permit-to-Carry-Firearm-Outside-of-Residence whose authenticity are still being verified.
The PNP-AKG director said that within a span of just 24-hours, they accounted for Madriaga, a businessman, and his cohorts in a series of operations in Cainta, which was triggered by intelligence reports that the gang members are regrouping to seize another moneyed target.
Castil said that all five are the subject of a non-bailable warrant of arrest for kidnapping-for-ransom issued by Judge Alma Crispina Collado-Lacrote of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 21 last June 30.
“The Madriaga kidnap-for-ransom group is one of the most dangerous criminal syndicates in recent history and had been under intense investigation for several months,” said the PNP-AKG director.
He said that the suspects were known for their brazen acts of violence and their involvement in a series of heinous crimes across the region.
